The Food and Drug Administration has given consumers the green light to eat fresh tomatoes again, lifting a salmonella warning that has been in place for weeks on raw red plum, red Roma, or round red tomatoes.
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Merck & Co. will begin funding a total of $4.85 billion to resolve state and federal claims over its painkiller Vioxx. The first payment of $500 million is scheduled for Aug. 6, and additional payments will be made afterward. Vioxx tablets/AP Photo Merck announced Thursday that it had met its threshold to make the payouts and will waive its right to walk away from an agreement reached last November to settle about 50,000 lawsuits. More than 48,500 of about 50,000 people — or roughly 97 percent of eligible claimants — have registered for the program, exceeding the 85 percent bar it needed.
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The bills can pile up if you need prescription drugs and don’t have health insurance to cover it. But Washington residents can enroll for free in the Washington Prescription Drug Program to get discounts on prescription drugs. You’ll receive a discount card that you can use at participating pharmacies to save up to 60 percent on generic drugs and 20 percent on brand name drugs. (Enrolling in Medicare Part D will not disqualify you from enrolling in this program).
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